Giant squid: Panda bear of the ocean?

Some people think so. Not in the sense of being cute and cuddly, of course. But in superstar potential. Think World Wildlife Fund’s iconic panda logo — who doesn’t recognize that image?

A team of researchers has published a new paper in Biological Conservation arguing that ocean conservationists should take a page from WWF’s book and anoint the giant squid as the new icon for ocean conservation. According to lead author Angel Guerra and colleagues:

“This paper shows that giant squid can be considered an emblematic species to represent concern for the conservation of marine invertebrate biodiversity because it satisfies all the requirements of an emblematic species. It shows that Architeuthis attracts public interest and attention and can serve as an indicator of oceanographic conditions and ocean climate change.”